"Punch them" - Serena Williams's witty reply to Patrick Mouratoglou asking his followers about their strategy against moonballers
Serena Williams appears to be enjoying her downtime from tennis. The 23-time Major winner recently responded to her coach Patrick Mouratoglou's Instagram story, where he gave his followers a preview of his expertise in tactical strategy.
Earlier on Tuesday, the elite coach took to Instagram to post a screen-cap of his personal blog. The heading of the blog read: "How to beat a moonballer?" and was followed by a brief description of what 'moonballer' means -- players who punt back their groundstrokes with little to no spin or pace and as high and deep as they can.
Mouratoglou then proceeded to ask his followers to reply to the story with how they would deal with such a player, prompting a reply from Serena Williams, who said tongue-in-cheek that it was best to "punch them". The American's response left the Frenchman in splits, going by a follow-up story posted by him on his handle.
"Punch them," Serena Williams wrote in her reply to Mouratoglou's story.
Serena Williams has found success against 'moonballers'
In her illustrious career spanning more than two decades, Williams has hardly struggled to make headway against 'moonballers'. She has used her power and athleticism to dominate her rivalries against Agnieszka Radwańska (10-0), Francesca Schiavone (7-2), and Sara Errani (9-0) -- all of whom employ a high-margin strategy from the baseline.
Having said that, the American has had her share of misadventures with such players as well. In 2015 Williams was spectacularly upset by Italy's Roberta Vinci -- a player who fits the mold of a 'moonballer' -- when she was on the cusp of completing an elusive Calendar Grand Slam at the US Open.
She also notoriously lost in the first round of the 2012 French Open to Virginie Razzano, who hardly had any weapons in her arsenal. It was after this loss that Serena Williams chose to make some changes to her coaching staff.
The American subsequently joined forces with Mouratoglou and the pair's partnership reaped immediate rewards as she won her 14th Major title at Wimbledon 2012. The French coach helped the American win nine more Grand Slams, bringing her tally to a whopping 23 Major titles.